4 ms·

People also remember things that never happened. For example, eye witness testimonials. I used to think I could recall conversations, but how do I know they ac

People also remember things that never happened. For example, eye witness testimonials. I used to think I could recall conversations, but how do I know they actually happened?

theklub 11y ago
And how do you prove it if the other person doesn't remember?
- rifung 11y ago
  Well, you can't prove it, but if two people can both recall the same thing independently then it seems likely that it's the truth. Here by independently I mean something like both people write down what they remember before speaking to the other person.
coldtea 11y ago
Easy, you get other persons to verify them. If you can get them to do that time and again, then you know you have a good memory. And of course it's not just conversations. One could easily verify his good memory by reciting old things he read (which he can easily check again) etc.
romaniv 11y ago
Out of curiosity, where did you hear about that research on false memories? Also, how do you know you can rely on your memories of yesterday or memories of things you've learned in school?
- tjr 11y ago
  You might find this interesting: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0674566769/ http://www.amazon.com/dp/0674566769/
kanzure 11y ago
> I used to think I could recall conversations, but how do I know they actually happened? That seems trivial to verify; just record details about all conversations you have with everyone. I have been doing this since 2009. I have a 5 MB yaml file with details of every conversations (mostly tags), and I might have an above-average memory but yeah I definitely forget things .... (and sometimes I get some of the details wrong even if a conversation happened just minutes ago). Another way to verify (to yourself only) is to writeup your memory of a conversation, PGP sign it, hash it, give the hash to a friend who was originally in the conversation, then have them do a writeup, then reveal the commitment and compare the two accounts of a conversation. The writeup would be better if it was done immediately after the actual conversation, because otherwise social groups have time to mingle and confuse everyone about what actually happened. Another way is to do a public group writeup of a conversation after it happens (or an audio/video recording), then have everyone PGP sign the writeup (to confirm their agreement), then later pick a random conversation where this setup was performed, and write down your memory of the conversation. This doesn't work if the conversations where this setup is performed are all unique; probably has to be a few thousand different setups happen before this starts to test memory in any meaningful capacity.
- dropit_sphere 11y ago
  > That seems trivial to verify; just record all conversations you have with everyone. I have been doing this since 2009. Only on HN...
- rosser 11y ago
  just record all conversations you have with everyone. I hope to hell you don't live in a two-party consent state. EDIT: Or interact with people who do. For example, California's two-party consent law applies to people calling Californians from other states.

People also remember things that never happened. For example, eye witness testimonials. I used to think I could recall conversations, but how do I know they actually happened?

theklub 11y ago

And how do you prove it if the other person doesn't remember?

rifung 11y ago
Well, you can't prove it, but if two people can both recall the same thing independently then it seems likely that it's the truth. Here by independently I mean something like both people write down what they remember before speaking to the other person.

coldtea 11y ago

Easy, you get other persons to verify them. If you can get them to do that time and again, then you know you have a good memory. And of course it's not just conversations. One could easily verify his good memory by reciting old things he read (which he can easily check again) etc.

romaniv 11y ago

Out of curiosity, where did you hear about that research on false memories? Also, how do you know you can rely on your memories of yesterday or memories of things you've learned in school?

tjr 11y ago
You might find this interesting: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0674566769/ http://www.amazon.com/dp/0674566769/

kanzure 11y ago

> I used to think I could recall conversations, but how do I know they actually happened? That seems trivial to verify; just record details about all conversations you have with everyone. I have been doing this since 2009. I have a 5 MB yaml file with details of every conversations (mostly tags), and I might have an above-average memory but yeah I definitely forget things .... (and sometimes I get some of the details wrong even if a conversation happened just minutes ago). Another way to verify (to yourself only) is to writeup your memory of a conversation, PGP sign it, hash it, give the hash to a friend who was originally in the conversation, then have them do a writeup, then reveal the commitment and compare the two accounts of a conversation. The writeup would be better if it was done immediately after the actual conversation, because otherwise social groups have time to mingle and confuse everyone about what actually happened. Another way is to do a public group writeup of a conversation after it happens (or an audio/video recording), then have everyone PGP sign the writeup (to confirm their agreement), then later pick a random conversation where this setup was performed, and write down your memory of the conversation. This doesn't work if the conversations where this setup is performed are all unique; probably has to be a few thousand different setups happen before this starts to test memory in any meaningful capacity.

dropit_sphere 11y ago
> That seems trivial to verify; just record all conversations you have with everyone. I have been doing this since 2009. Only on HN...
rosser 11y ago
just record all conversations you have with everyone. I hope to hell you don't live in a two-party consent state. EDIT: Or interact with people who do. For example, California's two-party consent law applies to people calling Californians from other states.